Christmas Break
by Saint-Rory-of-Flanagan
Summary: When Sam invited Rory to stay at his house for the holidays, he certainly didn't expect it to happen like this. Rated T for later.
1. Chapter 1

Its about 8pm, and they're both standing in the snow beside their donation box, while Rory, feeling like an idiot, rings out a loud bell in hope that people will become attracted to the sound and donate. He's been quiet, hoping that Sam isn't bitter from their scene in the auditorium.

Trying to break the silence, Rory sighs, "These bells make me homesick."

Sam stops concentrating on the footpath and looks over to him, smiling. "What like church bells and stuff?"

"No! My brother Seamus gets lost all the time, so my dad made him wear a bell 'round his neck, so we could always find 'im." He looks over at Sam, inwardly cheering because they're actually speaking and Sam is obviously not the type of person to hold a grudge.

This sparks a new burst of affection in Rory, and he asks if Sam would like to be his Valentines Day sponsor as well. Sam looks confused, but agrees to it anyway, in return for help on his Sean Connery impression or something like that.  
>He's about to ask his friend what <em>his<em> family is like when a snowball hits Sam in a place that probably shouldn't be hit by anything, but Sam, just laughs and nudges Rory when he doesn't get what's going on, pointing to Finn and Rachel who have randomly appeared on the other side of the road.  
>The four of them exchange friendly words as Rachel contributes to the donation box, and then Rory offers if she and Finn would like to join in with their bell-ringing.<br>There is a lot more clanging noise when Rachel and Finn help out, but it attracts more people to their box.

Sam leans over to Rory and says, "Best. Christmas. EVER."  
>Rory grins and wonders whether or not he thinks the same thing. <p>

* * *

><p>It's about 10 pm when Rory and Sam decide to pack up and head home.<br>"Come on," Sam beckons Rory with his head and makes a gesture with his hands. "It's a short walk from here to my car."

Rory nods and jogs after Sam, who's already started walking off down the footpath. He almost falls over when he's reached his friend and attempted to slow down, which makes Sam toss his head back and laugh loudly.

Sam has a nice laugh, Rory thinks before he can stop himself.

Soon they're both warming up in Sam's car. Rory sits on his hands in an attempt to get the feeling back in his fingers.

"You want to put the radio on?" Sam asks as he starts up the car.

Rory nods, but doesn't remove his hands from underneath him. "You do it; I can't feel anythin' from my wrists down."

Sam laughs at him again, which Rory goes a bit red at, and fiddles with a few buttons at the front of the dashboard. The car is suddenly filled with the sound of some catchy 80's song which Rory doesn't recognize but Sam obviously does, because now he's singing, almost shouting, along with it, and Rory is just staring at him incredulously and _laughing_because its so late and cold and nearly everything is hilarious right now.

After they've gone to Brittany's to say goodbye and pick up Rory's things, the first half of their drive to Sam's home is filled with comfortable silence and random songs, courtesy of the radio, until Sam asks, "What was it like back in Ireland?"

Rory, who was leaning against the window and trying to sleep, sits up and blinks a few times. "It's grand, Sam." He answers in the middle of a yawn. "I wasn't bullied there."  
>Sam frowns and glances at him for a second. "Wait, were you bullied here?"<p>

_Damn,_ Rory mentally scolds himself. _Shouldn't have told him that._

He shrugs it off. "Not too badly, though. Just name-callin' and gettin' shoved into lockers."

He shouldn't have said _that_ either, because now Sam's frowning even more. "That's still bullying though, Rors."  
>Rory yawns again.<p>

"You can go to sleep if you want; we've still got a bit of a drive." Sam offers.

"No, it's fine." Rory stifles another huge yawn and tries to look awake. "What's your family like, Sam Evans?"  
>Sam chuckles at the use of the last name, and answers jokingly, "I know they'd like you a lot more when you're alive. Seriously, you look half-dead, just go to sleep."<p>

Rory folds his arms across his chest and shakes his head. Sam smiles, because Rory has just transformed from a teenager to a pouty three-year-old.  
>"Really, do you think I'm going to draw a moustache on you? Just go to sleep."<br>"What if you crash the car?" Rory asks, his eyes very wide.

Sam gives him his best '_are you actually serious_' look, complete with raised eyebrows.  
>Rory sinks a bit in his seat and mutters, "Okay, wake me up when we get there."<br>He closes his eyes and drops off quickly, but not before he hears Sam say sarcastically,  
>"Nah, I was actually going to leave you in the car to freeze." <p>

* * *

><p>"Rory? Hey, Rory, up. Come on, up."<br>Rory lifts up a hand instinctively and whacks away whatever is disturbing his rest. When he hears Sam's annoyed '_oof_', he immediately sits up and nearly shouts an apology, but then he sees that Sam is actually _laughing_.

"Gosh, Rory," He manages to snort, "The look on your face when you hit me, I've never seen a sleeping person look so enraged!"  
>Rory ducks his head and smiles, cheeks tinged red.<p>

When they walk into Sam's house, which Rory notices is a bit small, they're immediately greeted by two cheerful parents and warmth.

"Sam, good to see you!" Sam's dad greets loudly, throwing his arms around his son, who returns the embrace instantly.  
>Sam's mother rushes up to an embarrassed Rory and shakes his hand so hard he's almost convinced that she's gone and broken his wrist.<p>

Greetings and names and backstories are all exchanged, and it takes nearly half an hour before they notice that Rory has that _'I am going to pass out' _look on his face and Sam's mother has practically steered him upstairs into the guest room and told him to sleep.

Sam waits at the doorway until his mother is gone, and then steps into the room to wish Rory a goodnight.

"Your ma is awesome." Rory comments sleepily.  
>"I know, I live with her." Sam chirps; a false superior look on his face.<p>

Rory rolls his eyes."Go away, I'm tired." He grumbles, lying down on the bed without even getting underneath the covers.  
>Sam disobeys this order, and leans down to wrap and arm around Rory in an awkward hug. Rory lazily lifts a hand and "returns" the hug by slapping Sam on the shoulder.<p>

"Goodni-ight!" Sam sings, drawing his arm away and prancing out of the room. When he reaches the doorway, he turns around and looks back at Rory, who's still sprawled out on the bed as if he's been run over, smiles, and turns off the light.

He is pretty sure that this is going to be one awesome Christmas.


	2. Chapter 2

When Rory woke up the next morning, he had helpfully forgotten almost everything that had happened the previous day—he also had no idea where he was.  
>He sat up in the foreign bed and glanced around quickly, eyes slightly blurry from sleep.<p>

"…What?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes with his palm and yawning.  
>"Finally." Someone drawled.<p>

Rory blinked in surprise as Sam came into the room, and then he remembered.  
><em>He was staying at a friends place for the holidays.<em>

Rory didn't know why, but the thought of it made him feel really excited.

"How was your sleep?" Sam asked, flopping down on the bed in front of Rory and crossing his legs. He folded his hands across his lap and smiled cheerfully, waiting for his answer.  
>A disgruntled Rory grumbled his reply, still not fully awake yet.<p>

Sam laughed and slapped his friend on the shoulder. "Come on, out you get. I want you to meet my siblings."

Rory is a bit surprised at that, because Sam never mentioned any siblings before this. But it's not like Sam is going to let him sleep for a bit longer, so he reluctantly swings his legs off the bed (which has chosen _now _to become incredibly warm and cozy) and follows him out of the guest room.

"Before you meet them," Sam says, "I want you to know that my little brother Stevie is a bit loud, and is probably going to randomly hug you every time you say something. He will also try and get you to play hide-and-seek with him about every few hours."  
>Rory snorts a bit, but Sam isn't finished.<br>"Also, Stacy, my little sister, is probably going to run as soon as she sees you," He warns, "Don't be offended though, she's just shy."

Rory nods and they continue walking to whatever room the little kids sleep in. Before they even get there, Rory can hear the sound of loud, high voices and laughter drifting down the hallway, and then Sam turns into a room and there are his siblings.

Oh wow, Rory thinks. Sam never said anything about his siblings being _adorable_.

"Stacy, Stevie, this is my friend Rory Flanagan. He's staying here for Christmas." Sam introduces.

"Is he an elf?" Stevie asks.

Stacy doesn't say anything: she'd thrown herself behind the bed as soon as she saw Rory.

"No…" Sam laughs, and then looks to Rory. "_Say something cool_!" He hisses.

Rory frowns, because it's really hard to be cool with little kids, they're always so _judgmental_!  
>"Hi," he settles with. "I'm Rory and I'm from Ireland."<p>

Stevie seems to find that cool enough, because suddenly Rory finds himself being tackled into an incredibly tight hug by the small kid.  
>"I like you." Stevie shouts, rubbing his head against Rory's stomach.<p>

Rory looks up at Sam desperately, wondering what he's supposed to do now he's got Sam's little brother clinging to him like a limpet.

"Stevie, stop killing Rory and come here." Sam opens his arms and Stevie runs into them eagerly, and Rory can breathe again.

Stacy, most likely wanting attention, emerged from her hiding place, made a wide berth around Rory and stood next to her two brothers, looking up at them with wide eyes.  
>With his free hand Sam ruffled her hair, and she squeaked in annoyance.<p>

"Who's hungry?" Sam asked, which seemed to have the same effect as announcing that he was actually a magic mushroom that granted wishes; the two kids stared up at him with delight plastered all over their faces before, in unison, they both ran out of the room cheering.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Rory asked, indicating at the open door.  
>Sam nodded.<br>"Whenever food is mentioned those two go crazy, even if they're not hungry." Sam shrugged. "It gets a bit awkward when we go out to restaurants, but all the other times it's cute."

Rory stuck out his lips and nodded in an '_I see_' way, before asking, "So, are we goin' to follow them or…?"  
>Sam stuck his hands in his pockets and smirked. "We could stay here and miss out on breakfast if you want."<br>Rory shakes his head instantly and once again follows Sam down the hallway.

* * *

><p>"Good morning you two," Sam's mother greets them as they arrive into the kitchen. Sam waves and Rory, for some reason, dips his head instead of saying hello.<br>"Did you sleep well?" She asks, making it obvious that she was mainly talking to Rory.  
>Sam answered her anyway.<br>"Awesome!"  
>"Sammy, I was talking to our guest…."<br>Sam pouted and Rory pulled a face at him, which resulted in being punched gently in the shoulder. Then he realized that Mrs. Evans was still waiting for his report on sleep.  
>"Oh, it was good ma'am," he answered truthfully. "Your guest bed is very comfortable."<p>

Wait, do people usually talk about how comfortable other people's beds are in America?  
>Because now Sam is staring at him a little awkwardly, but his mother seems pretty satisfied with his answer.<p>

"That's good, love," She smiles at him, and then continues with whatever she was doing before the two boys came downstairs. "Sam, could you please get the bacon out of the fridge?"  
>Sam nods and heads over to the small fridge in the corner of the room, opens it, and searches around in side it for a few moments.<br>Rory stands by the doorway awkwardly and wonders whether or not he should help him.

"Mom, I see no bacon in here." Sam grumbles, sticking an arm inside the fridge and sifting through the contents.  
>Mrs. Evans turns around from her post near the fry pan and strides over to help out her son. She sticks her arm into the fridge and withdraws it almost instantly, clutching a small package.<br>"It was right in front of you, Sam." She scolds gently.

Sam slinks back over to Rory, leans in to him and whispers, "How do they do that? How come mothers can find anything they want in a second when it would probably take _me _hours?"  
>Rory raises his eyebrows, because he's had the same experience back in Ireland.<p>

"MOM!" Rory hears a high voice, probably Stacy, shout from the living room. "Stevie's stolen the remote and you promised that it was MY turn to pick the show!"  
>Mrs. Evans sighs and waves in the direction of her distressed child. "Sam, Rory, would you mind sorting that out?"<p>

Sam makes an annoyed huffing sound, but Rory answers, "Of course ma'am."  
>She smiles at him. "Drop that "ma'am" stuff, I'm not royalty."<br>Rory blushed slightly. "Sorry ma—Mrs. Evans!" He corrects himself quickly and spins around in what he hopes is the way to the living room.

"Rory, get back here, that's not the right way."

Nope.

He makes a U-turn and slumps back over to Sam, laughing to cover up his embarrassment. Sam's laughing that pretty laugh of his too, and Mrs. Evans is also grinning gently as she starts up the frying pan.

Sam leads him in the _right_ direction, where they can hear Stacy and Stevie bickering even from their place in the hall.  
>They pause outside the doorway to the living room, where Sam suddenly turns around and grabs Rory's shoulders.<br>"Mr. Flanagan, if I don't make it out alive, you can have my movie collection." He announces in a dramatic voice. He lets go of Rory and strides into the room.

Rory frowns, because he's not too sure if Sam was actually being serious or not.

The bickering noise stops for a few moments, and Rory thinks its safe to poke his head around the door and see if Sam is actually being murdered by his little siblings.  
>Quite the opposite actually; Stevie is sitting in front of Sam and listening intently as he speaks, and Stacy is curled into her big brother's side, one arm draped around his shoulder.<p>

However, as soon as she notices Rory she ducks behind Sam with a squeak.

"Can I come in?" Rory asks once he has Sam's attention.  
>His friend nods and points to a spare armchair near the door, before he continues speaking gently to Stevie.<p>

As Rory plops down in the chair, Sam's little brother turns and waves at him for a few moments.

Sam seems to have sorted things out pretty well, because now Stevie has given his brother a big hug and apologized to his sister, promising to never, _ever_steal the remote when it wasn't his turn again. The scene is surprisingly sweet, Rory thinks with a smile.

Sam nods approvingly as his little siblings snuggle together on the couch to watch TV, before heading over to Rory's armchair and sitting on the arm rest.

"Sam, you should be a psychiatrist." Rory says earnestly.

That gets Sam to give him another look. "Really, Rory, _really_?"  
>Rory nods, because he actually isn't joking.<p>

Sam sniffs in amusement and explains, "I've had a lot of practice, really. They argue at least once every two days. Usually over trivial things like stealing plush toys."

Rory is again reminded of home, because _his_brother use to (and still does) steal random things off him.

One of Sam's siblings must have sat on the remote, because suddenly the TV channel changes from some cheesy kids show to Doctor Who, and Sam has to go sort _that_ out because Stacy actually looks _terrified_, even though nothing scary has popped up.  
>Rory claps a hand over his mouth to stop himself cracking up, because he honestly has a loud laugh that has embarrassed him in more than one occasion—not to mention that it would probably scare Stacy even more.<p>

Once all the problems are solved, and the remote is out of the way, Sam turns back to Rory and gives him an amused and surprised look, before returning to his seat on the arm rest.

"I can move over if you want?" Rory offers, already scooting sideways.  
>"Nah, I'm alright."<p>

"Kids, Rory, Sam!" Everyone's heads perk up as they hear Mrs. Evans call their names from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready!"

* * *

><p>"So, Rory, what did you usually have for breakfast in Ireland?" Mrs. Evans asked as she distributed bacon and eggs onto everyone's plates.<br>Rory shrugs. "Toast?"  
>For some reason Sam seems to find that hilarious and Mrs. Evans seems to find that surprising.<br>"I like toast!" Stevie squeaks, ignoring his mother and giving Rory another hug.  
>"Uh, yeah!" Rory laughs. "Same here."<p>

For the first time since he arrived, Stacy spoke, even if it was only to say "Excuse me," to Rory as she attempted to get in in front of him and take her plate.  
>"Sorry!" He said, scooting sideways.<br>"Thanks." She mumbled quietly, grabbing her plate and ducking across the room to the table.

It doesn't take long for everyone to be sitting around the table, chatting about what their holiday plans were, and complimenting on how awesome the bacon was.  
>"Where's your da?" Rory asked Sam, attempting and failing to put a piece of egg on his fork. It kept sliding across his plate.<br>"He's going to work extra for the first week and a half," Sam explained. Rory noticed that he kept his eyes on his food and spoke edgily, as if this wasn't a subject he liked talking about.

"Can we go Christmas shopping today, mommy?" Stacy asks.  
>Mrs. Evans shakes her head. "No not today, honey. Maybe when daddy finishes work." She looks up and faces Sam. "Would you and Rory mind taking the kids to the park today? I have things to do around the house."<br>Sam nods and goes back to eating. Rory notices that Sam's mother is waiting for his opinion too, so he answers, "No I think that'd be fun."

She smiles, looking very relieved. "You two are angels."  
>"I thought Rory was an elf," Stevie points accusingly at Rory with his fork—the piece of bacon that was originally speared on it fell onto the table. "Rory's been telling lies mom!"<br>Sam sighs and slaps his palm into his face as Rory tries to stop himself laughing.  
>"No, Stevie," Sam explains. "Rory never said he was an elf. Stop saying random things that aren't true."<br>"Oh, okay." Sam's little brother doesn't seem to bothered at being told off; he's busy trying to get to bacon off the table.

After breakfast and after Sam had helped his mother clean the dishes (she refused to let Rory help, and had shooed him off into the living room to make sure the kids watched the right kind of show) the two boys had headed upstairs to get ready to go to the park.

* * *

><p>"Put on like, three jumpers," Sam advised. "According to mom it's freezing outside. Don't forget a scarf."<br>Rory nodded and slipped inside the guest room. Sam shut the door for him and headed to his own room.  
>Rory was halfway through getting changed when Sam suddenly rapped on his door and shouted, "Hurry up, the kids are waiting! Oh, and mom wants to know if you have the right kind of shoes."<p>

"Yes, I do!" Rory yelled back, laughing.

Once he was rugged up like an Eskimo, he opened the door and stepped into the hallway, eyes immediately drawn to the bright splash of color that was Sam's scarf.  
>"Nice scarf," He commented with a smirk. "It looks like you threw it into a rainbow."<br>Sam shrugged, clearly not offended. "My uncle bought it for me ages ago. _I _like it."

"Rory!" Stevie shouted in greeting, rushing up to him and giving him _another _hug.

"Hi, Stevie!" Rory patted the kid's back awkwardly with his hand until he was released. Damn, Stevie gave tight hugs.

"Can we build a snowman?" That was Stacy, appearing behind Sam dressed cutely in a puffy pink jacket and beanie. She grabbed onto her older brother's hand and stared at Rory shyly.

"We can have a snowman building contest?" Rory suggested; it was the first thing that came into his head.

"Yeah!" Stevie yelped excitedly, romping around the hallway. "I bags being on Rory's team!"

Sam gave Rory a thumbs-up with his spare hand. "Alright. But I warn you, you two are going _down_. Our snowman's going to be _way _bigger."

"Nuh-uh," Rory waggled his finger and put on a duck-face, which made Stacy laugh (success!). "Yours might be bigger, but _ours_ is still going to be _better._"

"It's on!" Stacy squeaked, smiling at Rory for the first time.

Sam sighed and helped his little sister down the stairs (Stevie had already rushed into the kitchen to get carrots for the snowmen). "Well Rory, congratulations. I think you just became their hero."

**A/N: There, I fixed the paragraph problem, huzzah!  
><strong>**Anyway, could you please review? :3** **Because even though favorites and story alerts are cool, reviews are cooler :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I stopped writing in present tense; it was beginning to provoke me.  
>Also, this chapter is long and I find it incredibly boring. Bear with me, hopefully the next one will be a bit better :)<br>Thanks for the reviews!**

"Sam, are we nearly there?"  
>"We only got out of the house five minutes ago, Stace. There's still a bit of a walk."<br>"Can we run?"  
>"You'll fall and hurt yourself."<br>"I won't _die_!"  
>"What if you slip and fall sideways onto the road? <em>Then<em>you might!"

Rory found himself smiling as he followed behind Sam and Stacy (Stevie had insisted on holding _his_hand instead of his brother's) and listened to their conversation. The playful sibling bickering made him feel kind of… at home? He didn't know if that was the right way to describe it, but it came pretty close.

"Rory, did it snow in Scotland?" Stevie snapped him out of his trance with another one of his many irrelevant questions. Sam's brother looked up at him intently and waited for an answer.

"Ireland," Rory corrected, "And yeah, it snowed. Me and my brother Seamus always had snowball fights in the garden." He stopped talking because thinking of home was kind of painful.  
>"Did you win?" Stevie tugged on his hand impatiently when he didn't answer right away.<br>Rory looked down at Sam's little brother and quirked an eyebrow. "Only _all_the time."

Stevie grinned back up at him cheekily. "You wouldn't win against me!"  
>From a little way ahead, Sam tipped his head over his shoulder and smirked at them. "Are you sure about that, Stevo?"<br>Stevie nodded his blonde head up and down rapidly.  
>Rory and Sam exchanged a smile.<p>

"Can I go back to Ireland with you, Rory?" Stevie yapped, tugging on Rory's jacket.  
>Rory laughed and shook his head. "I don't think your parents would let you."<p>

Sam and Stacy had slowed down enough so now they were all walking beside each other.  
>"I'd miss you though!" Sam protested.<br>"I wouldn't!" Stacy chirped, grinning at Stevie and waiting for a reaction. As soon as she saw the look on her brother's face she started skipping away along the path, giggling.  
>"Hey!" Stevie yipped, sounding very offended. He let go of Rory's hand and took off after his sister.<br>"Don't fall over!" Sam shouted after them.  
>He turned and shook his head at Rory, frowning.<p>

Rory stepped up to Sam so they were walking next to each other.  
>"How far away is this park anyway?" Rory asked.<br>Sam tilted his head sideways and their eyes locked before he answered, "It's about a fifteen minute walk. Usually Stacy and Stevie are exhausted before we even get there."

Rory drew his gaze away from Sam's face and frowned at his friend's siblings, who were still chasing each other in circles ahead of them.  
>"Can't see why." He muttered sarcastically.<br>Sam chuckled.

"You know," he said suddenly, with the air of someone about to tell a great story. "Sometimes when I take them out, people think I'm their dad." Rory looked at him in surprise and Sam nodded. "It's true! They always come up to me and say "aww, your kids are so cute!" which usually results in Stevie yelling at them for mistaking me as their dad…" Sam dipped his head and laughed at the memory.

"So," Rory inquired, not really thinking. "If they saw us now, would they think that we were their two dads?"  
>Sam stopped walking and Rory realized what he said.<p>

Oh.  
>That came out awkwardly.<p>

Great, now Sam was looking at him like he was nuts.  
>"I mean like…" Rory stopped talking and started concentrating very hard on walking because he was pretty sure that he was about to embarrass himself again.<p>

He felt Sam clap a hand on his shoulder. "They'd probably think just that," his friend said. "And then Stevie would have no choice but to shout at them."  
>Good on Sam for not getting creeped out, Rory thought in relief.<p>

"SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMM!" Stacy suddenly appeared from around the corner, hurtling towards them at a speed that was surprising for someone of her age. Stevie rocketed after her, shouting, "I didn't mean to do it, it wasn't supposed to jump on you!"

Stacy thumped into her older brother and clung to his jumper, turning her head to stare in horror at her other sibling, who hadn't made it to them yet.  
>"What happened?" Sam asked, not sounding interested.<br>"Stevie picked up a bug and threw it at me!" She whined loudly.

Rory just stood around awkwardly and waited for them to sort their problem out.

"Is that it?" Sam asked. "He threw a bug at you, and you scream like _that_?"  
>He turned to Rory and rolled his eyes.<p>

Stevie, who had nearly crashed into Rory in his haste to stop, grabbed his sister's shoulders and practically yelled, "I didn't mean to, I was only trying to show it to you!"  
>Sam turned his head away from Rory, who was trying to stop himself laughing, before patting his sister in a bored fashion on the back. "Was it even alive?"<br>Stacy drew her head away from her brother's stomach and blinked up at him. "Maybe!" She whimpered. "I mean, it wasn't moving…"  
>"It was dead, I killed it." Stevie interjected, sounding very proud of himself.<p>

Sam gently pushed his sister away. "Ding Dong the bug was dead, case closed, let's keep going shall we?"  
>He looked up at Rory again and grimaced dramatically.<br>Sam's brother and sister fell silent and they could all continued walking in peace, save the random comments courtesy of Stevie. 

* * *

><p>The first thought Rory had when they got to the park was wow, it was a lot bigger than he had thought it would be. It was almost the size of a football field—a bright white football field surrounded by trees.<p>

"It's pretty." He commented, nodding his head in a kind of approval and putting his cold hands in his jacket pockets. Why did have to forget to put on gloves?  
>"That's what everyone says the first time they see it." Sam replied.<p>

He then directed his attention to Stacy and Stevie, who were both bobbing up and down eagerly on their toes. "You two go have a snowball war or something, then come and get us when you want to build our snowmen… don't talk to strangers and don't run too far into the park. As for us," He winked at Rory. "Rors and I want to have some… _daddy time_."

After both the kids had darted off elsewhere Rory turned to face Sam and muttered, "If we weren't in public I would actually kill you."  
>"No you wouldn't." Sam folded his arms and smirked. "Even someone as evil as you wouldn't want our children to grow up with only <em>one<em> dad!"  
>"And to think I have to put up with you for the whole holiday." Rory growled.<p>

Sam clapped a hand to his chest in false shock.  
>"I can't believe you would say such a thing!"<br>Rory strutted over to Sam and prodded a finger into his chest. "Believe it!"  
>Sam tipped his head and widened his eyes in some kind of intimidating action. Despite the obvious joking nature, Rory took a step back.<p>

Then all of a sudden he was covered in snow and Sam was running in the opposite direction, cackling like some sort of madman.  
>Rory wiped the snow away from his eyes, mouth still hanging open in surprise. Sam stopped running and started staring at him with his knees bent, looking like he was ready to skedaddle at any minute.<p>

Shaking his head and dislodging the snow in his hair, Rory glared intently at his attacker.  
>Sam lifted up a hand and waved; grinning brightly and looking suspiciously like someone in an ad for toothpaste.<br>For some reason this action provoked Rory, who instantly crouched down and grabbed a handful of snow, lobbing it in Sam's direction.

Even from the short distance Rory's aim was pretty good; his snowball hit Sam right in the face.  
>Sam shouted some kind of war cry before picking up another lump of snow and rushing at Rory, who yelped and spun around. His feet slid wildly on the snow and he went down.<p>

All thoughts of starting a snowball war of their own vanished instantly, because Rory was giggling so hard he seemed to have forgotten how to get up and Sam had dropped his snow and doubled over, almost cracking a rib as laughs racked his body.  
>"You know… I think… Stacy and Stevie are …probably… having a much more organized… snowball… fight than we are." Sam managed to choke out.<br>"You don't say?" Rory had stopped laughing and was now sitting up and rubbing his ankle.  
>For a few seconds Sam stopped laughing. "You okay? You didn't hurt yourself did you?"<br>Rory shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

He shakily got to his feet.  
>"Wow, I must have looked really stupid there." He brushed snow off his jacket and tried to act as if his hands weren't completely numb.<br>Sam, who had been going well at trying to resist laughing, snorted. "Dude, you have _no_ idea. I wish I'd filmed it, it would have made YouTube gold!"  
>Still giggling like he was drunk, Sam started helping Rory get the snow off himself, whacking at the front of his friend's jacket and jeans.<p>

"Thanks." Rory said, voice tight as he tried not to laugh again. He rubbed his hands together, trying to get the feeling back into his fingers.  
>Sam mistook his stiff voice for anger and gave him a surprised look. "Aw, come <em>on<em> Rors, don't be angry." He scooted over to his friend and nudged him his shoulder. "Can you at least not punch me in the face until we're alone? Stacy would probably get even more scared of you than she already is."  
>Rory started laughing because that was the silliest request he'd ever heard. "I'm not even angry at you, Sam Evans. Besides, I wouldn't be able to punch you without any blood in my hands."<p>

Sam nodded and lifted up one of Rory's hands. He started breathing on it.  
>Rory's furrowed his brow and yanked his hand away. "Ew, don't do that."<p>

"I'm just warming them up, not injecting venom into them." Sam protested, trying to grab Rory's hand again. "Besides, what were you doing forgetting your gloves anyway?"  
>Rory sniffed in amusement and put his hands behind his back to protect them from Sam. "I didn't know that I was going to fall over when I was getting changed."<p>

Sam's reply, whatever it might have been, was cut short as Stevie and Stacy suddenly appeared in front of them. Stevie spun around, smiled at Rory and said, "Can we have our contest now? Pleeeaaase?"

Even if Rory wasn't into building snowmen, he wouldn't have been able to say no—not when Stevie was giving him puppy eyes.

"I think that's a good idea." Sam answered for Rory, clapping Stacy on her shoulders. He lifted his head and smirked at Rory, "But can you even move those numb hands of yours?"  
>"What does numb mean?" Stevie asked before Rory could come up with a smart reply.<br>"Doesn't matter," Sam chirped.

"Are there rules?" Stacy asked, tilting her head up to look at Sam.  
>"Yeah…" Sam frowned as if he was making up the rules in his head. "Uh, no destroying each other's snowmen, no starting snowball fights in the middle of the contest…" He glared at Stevie, who grinned back angelically. "And, yeah, that's about it. Stacy and I will build our snowman over there," he jabbed his hand in a random direction, "And Rory and Stevie can build theirs here, okay?"<p>

Stacy put up her hand.  
>"Stacy this isn't school, just say what you want to say." Sam laughed.<br>"What does the winner get?" She asked, putting her arm down.  
>Sam blinked, obviously stumped, and looked to Rory, who shrugged and mouthed, '<em>make something up!'<em>

"I'll get back to you two on that one." Sam mumbled. He grasped Stacy's hand and tugged her over to their snowman-building-patch. "On three, we start," He shouted over to Rory and Stevie. "One… two… three!"

Stevie suddenly shouted, "Wait up Sam, you forgot your carrot! Your snowman needs a nose!" He rushed over to his older brother and flung the vegetable at him, before returning. He looked like he was on a mission.  
>Stevie gave Rory an urgent look—it was all Rory could do to stop himself laughing at how seriously the kid was taking the contest—and said, "I'm good at making snowman bodies and heads. You go collect the arms and stuff."<br>Rory blinked. "From where?"  
>Stevie pointed to a clump of trees to their left. "There're a lot of sticks over there. Go on, hurry! Make sure you get good ones!"<p>

Rory smiled because Stevie was definitely the most controlling kid he's ever met.  
>"Sure thing, captain." He gave a mock salute and took off in the required direction, making sure not to slip over this time.<p>

When he got to the tree-filled bit, he couldn't find any suitable twigs or sticks—except for ones up in the trees, which weren't very useful because he couldn't climb to save his life. He settled with jumping up and ripping two low branches off one of the thinner trees.

"Are these alright?" He asked Stevie when he got back, showing him the branches.  
>Stevie looked up from where he was sorting out the snowman's body (Rory thought it actually looked really good) and nodded, smiling brightly. "Those are good! Put them in."<br>Rory obeyed, and then asked, "Do you want me to make the head?"

Stevie shook his head. "I want to do that. You can find buttons for our snowman."  
>"…Buttons?" Rory tilted his head in confusion.<br>"Yeah, buttons." Stevie looked at him and frowned as if he was being stupid. "You don't want Becks to be cold do you?"  
><em>Becks?<em>Rory thought with a grin. "Oh, of course not!"

"Good." Stevie went back to rolling the snowball-head around to make it bigger. "There are probably rocks over in the same place you found Becks' arms. Go get some for buttons, and for his mouth and eyes. Hurry up, Rory, or we'll lose!"  
>Yep. Definitely the most controlling kid he'd ever met. <p>

* * *

><p>About half an hour later, Sam and Stacy had come over to see how their opponents' snowman was getting on.<br>Rory had to admit, that Becks was a pretty awesome snowman. Despite looking kind of creepy with it's different-sized eyes, Rory's scarf and Stevie's gloves added nice touches.  
>Sam nodded, impressed, but then said "Well, your snowman has more detail but ours has a more interesting pose and better facial expression." He cast a glance at Becks' face and frowned. "Your one just looks creepy."<br>"That's because Becks is evil." Stevie launched into an explanation about how Becks was a robot snowman who was planning to take over the world.  
>"O…kay." Sam gave Stevie a thumbs up and then announced, "Well, I hereby call it a draw."<p>

While Stacy and Stevie spent the next ten seconds bickering about whose snowman was actually better, Rory stepped up to Sam and asked quietly, "You only made it a draw because there really was no prize, didn't you?"  
>Sam nodded. "Besides, whoever lost would probably tell on me or hate me for a few days. Maybe both if I'm lucky."<p>

Rory tipped his head to one side indifferently. "You could've just bought them a chocolate bar or something."  
>"Nyeh," Sam shrugged, "They would have fought over it."<p>

He looked at his watch. "We can stay here for a bit longer or leave now, what do you wanna do?"  
>Rory opened his mouth then closed it and shrugged. "What do <em>you<em> want to do?"  
>Sam grinned. "No, don't start this. Stay or go, pick one."<br>"Can we stay?" Stacy asked, overhearing their conversation. "Please? Me and Stevie won't annoy you, we swear!"

"Yeah!" Stevie backed up his sister although he looked like he didn't know what anyone was talking about.  
>"Alright," Sam said, "We'll stay here for a bit longer…"<br>_How long is "a bit"?_ Rory wondered.  
>"… But when I say it's time to go, we go, okay?" Sam waited until both his siblings had nodded, then let them go off to do whatever it was kids did at parks when its snowing.<p>

"More daddy time?" Rory asked, elbowing Sam playfully in the ribs. Sam nudged him back, and then a three-second shoving war was started, until Rory slipped over again.  
>"You're really clumsy, you know." Sam held out his hand and helped Rory up.<br>Rory shrugged, hoping that the cold would be an excuse for his red cheeks. "It's the snow's fault, its too slippery."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Don't drag the snow into this. By the way your hands are freezing! Put them in your jacket or something before you get frostbite."  
>Rory rolled his eyes, but shoved his hands into his pockets anyway. "Happy?"<br>"Ecstatic." Sam replied sarcastically. 

* * *

><p>When the four of them finally got home, Mrs. Evans immediately scolded them for staying out for too long in the cold. She had a point: "a bit longer" turned out to be almost three hours.<br>"Where are your gloves?" She cried, grabbing Stevie's hands in her own.  
>Stevie frowned. "Becks must've stolen them."<br>Mrs. Evans made a confused noise.  
>"Becks is our snowman." Rory explained. As soon as he finished talking he realized how stupid that sounded.<p>

"Becks is evil!" Stevie insisted. Stacy was nodding behind him as if she agreed. Sam caught Rory's eye and held out his hands as if to say, "_I get this all the time._"  
>"Uh, okay." Sam's mother gave a forced smile, then directed her attention to her older son. "Next time, Sam, make sure you get home earlier, I was worried."<br>Sam opened his mouth to protest, but Stevie got their first.  
>"Can I have a milkshake?" He asked.<br>Sam let out a noisy breath and grabbed Rory's arm, tugging him in the direction of the living room just as Stevie and his mother started a debate on why people shouldn't drink milkshakes in the middle of winter.

"You think they're weird now," Sam muttered once they got to the room, sitting down in an armchair. "You should see them when they're having a sugar high. Once, Stacy actually attempted to climb up a doorway."  
>Rory crossed the room and flopped down in the couch across from Sam, laughing. "I like them, though, they're really cute."<p>

Sam made an amused '_psshh_' noise. "They like you too—well, maybe not Stacy—but Stevie practically hero worships you." He shrugged. "I warn you, he's probably going to annoy you eventually."  
>"I can tell where they got their weirdness from." Rory sniffed, shooting Sam a look.<p>

Sam made an offended noise and lobbed a cushion at him.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Short, random chapter, mainly with Rory and Sam. Thanks to those of you who reviewed, you guys rock! A massive hug from Stevie to all of you.**

After both boys had finished helping Sam's mom make lunch, then help the family eat it, Sam had grabbed Rory and dragged him upstairs before Stevie found something he wanted to talk about, then practically shoved him into his room, stepping in after him and shutting the door.  
>"What was that about?" Rory asked, confused. He sat down on the edge of Sam's bed and waited for an answer.<br>"Obviously we were just escaping what would have been an almost certain death by annoying little brother." Sam explained, sitting down next to Rory. "Trust me, he'd probably try and start some massive game of hide-and-seek."  
>Rory grunted. "Well, what are we gonna do here?"<p>

Sam frowned, because he actually hadn't thought of that. "Whatever we want, pretty much. Although now that I think about it, all the interesting stuff is downstairs…"  
>Rory chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Trust you."<br>Sam shrugged, got up from the bed and crossed the room to his desk near the wall. "Let's just go on my computer." He grabbed a MacBook from his desk and returned to the bed with it.  
>Rory scooted over, thinking that that way they would fit properly without having to squish together and make everything awkward.<br>"Thanks," Sam said, settling into a comfortable position on his stomach. He opened up the laptop and pressed the on button, then looked up at Rory, who was still sitting. He patted the space next to him. "Come on, lie down."

Rory frowned but obeyed, shifting into some kind of crouch and wriggling closer to Sam so he could see the computer screen as well.  
>So much for not squishing together, he thought.<br>Sam's Mac loaded, and Rory instantly smiled when he saw the desktop background: it was a picture of Stevie and Stacy posing next to their big brother in front of a beach.  
>"Aww!" He said before he could stop himself. Sam raised an eyebrow at him.<br>"What?" Rory protested. "It's cute!"  
>Sam rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Now we just have to Photoshop you in there and we can have a lovely family picture!"<p>

"I hate you." Rory grumbled, pulling a face at his friend. "Besides, where would you put me in? I wouldn't fit anywhere."  
>Sam grinned at the computer as he opened up the internet. "I could stick your head over that lovely tree in the background?"<br>"That would look horrific." Rory complained.  
>"Your face looks horrific." Sam said back childishly.<br>Rory gasped and pretended to be offended. Sam laughed and shook his head.  
>"Your fake offended face looks horrific…" He muttered.<br>Rory started actually looking offended. "_You're_ horrific." He said, pouting.  
>"<em>Everything<em> is horrific!" Sam exclaimed dramatically, raising his hands up. Rory buried his face in his friend's shoulder to stop himself cracking up loudly.  
>Sam petted his head until he drew it away. "Settled down yet?" he asked, smirking.<br>Rory nodded.  
>"Good, that was kind of scary." Sam rolled the shoulder that Rory's face was originally on. "Now my shoulder feels like you've breathed all over it."<br>"I have." Rory replied, dipping his head to one side.

"Hey, did Mr. Schue assign any glee club homework for us?" Sam asked, frowning at the computer screen thoughtfully.  
>Rory opened his mouth and rolled his eyes up as he tried to remember. "Uhhh… probably not anything specific… I hope. It was most likely just to practice singin'."<br>He turned back to Sam, who, to his slight surprise, was already gazing intently at him.  
>"Uh…?" Rory asked, shifting slightly.<br>"That's what we should do later, then." Sam decided. He turned back to the computer. "We should practice singing!"  
>Rory frowned slightly. "What, together?"<br>Sam nodded and opened up YouTube. "Yeah, would you be alright with that?" He shot a sideways glance at Rory. "It's not like we're going to sing a love song or anything, and we're just practicing."

Rory nodded rapidly, "No, I'm not miffed about it or anythin'! I'd be perfectly fine with singin' with you, Sam. I just usually sing alone."  
>Sam sighed good naturedly and leaned a bit closer with raised eyebrows. "You sing with the glee club all the time; how is <em>that<em> singing alone?"  
>Rory nodded, seeing sense in Sam's statement. "You have a point there, Sam Evans."<br>Sam bowed his head. "Always do." He tapped his fingers over the keyboard lightly. "Okay, what song do you think we should sing?"  
>"Wait," Rory was confused. "We don't <em>have<em> to practice singin', you know. It's not like Mr. Schue would give us any solos anyway, and—"  
>"Yeah, but I think it'd be fun anyways." Sam interrupted. "Also, my mom has this annoying habit of making me perform for our Christmas parties. And now that you're here, there is no <em>way <em>I'm doing a performance by myself this time."

Rory grumbled, "What have I gotten myself into…?"  
>Sam grinned and pushed Rory's shoulder with his head. "A whole lot of awesome hoo-ha!" He chirped. "Now, back to the song we should perform—"<br>"The song _you_ will perform."  
>"… The song <em>we<em> _will_ perform, I think we should do something from the 80's, I mean, a lot of singers back there had the same kind of voices as us."  
>"Did they?" Rory asked.<br>Sam shrugged. "Dunno, but anyway, we should do one of them becau—"  
>"I've never met anybody who sings like me." Rory interrupted sadly, "My voice is way too deep compared to almost everyone else's."<br>Sam rubbed Rory's back gingerly. "You're free to wallow in self pity as much as you'd like, but can you do it later please?"

Rory started pretending to cry.

"Annnyyywaayyyy…." Sam thought carefully about how to word his next sentence. "You know what I think'd be awesome?"  
>Rory stopped faux-sobbing and looked up. "No. What?"<br>"If we…" Sam flapped his hand to both of them, "…did some powerful ballad of some sort that represented how we felt at a moment of our lives. What do you think?"  
>"Sam, I <em>think<em> that was the most dramatic thing I've ever heard anyone say. EVER."  
>Sam looked impressed with himself. "I have to agree, I sounded pretty awesome there. But anyway, what do you think of that idea?"<br>Rory smiled faintly. "I'd be up for it. But what song do we do?"  
>"It depends on what we felt at that… <em>moment of our lives<em>." Sam was thinking so hard Rory could almost hear it. "I just can't think of one."  
>"Neither." Rory lied.<p>

The truth is, he _was_ thinking up a time. A lot of times, actually—most of them involving the kind of harassment he got at McKinley when no one was there to see it. But he didn't want to spill and upset Sam.  
>"Aw, really?" Sam asked sadly. Rory nodded.<br>"Don't worry though, Sam." He rubbed his friend's shoulder. "We'll think of something pretty soon, I bet."

**A/N: What? No making out? **


	5. Chapter 5

They spent the rest of the afternoon on the computer, mostly on YouTube and occasionally googling random dramatic phrases to see if they were in any songs—no luck, however.  
>"Gosh, who knew finding a suitable song would be so hard." Sam sighed, propping his head up on his hand.<br>Rory shrugged. "It always seems so easy when Mr. Schue gets us to pick one for an assignment…"  
>"… then doesn't let us perform it." Sam finished with a huff. He suddenly noticed the time—7:30. "Woah, we've been up here for ages!"<br>Rory widened his eyes in surprise. "Oh, yikes. Your ma won't be angry will she?"  
>Sam shook his head, laughing. "No way, do you honestly think she'd even be <em>able<em> to _feel_ anger? I can't even remember the last time she yelled."  
>"SAM! RORY! COME DOWNSTAIRS AND HAVE YOUR DINNER!"<br>Rory smirked. "Well there you have it, she yelled. Remember this moment forever."  
>Sam nodded, plastering a serious look over his face. Then he smiled and clapped Rory on the shoulder. "Come on, I'm hungry."<p>

* * *

><p>When they got downstairs and into the kitchen, Mrs. Evans looked up and asked, "Rory, do you eat peas?"<br>He nodded.  
>"Carrots?"<br>He nodded again.  
>"Potatoes?"<br>"Mom I think Rory eats everything." Sam interrupted. He looked at Rory, "Right?"  
>He nodded a third time and laughed slightly.<br>"Oh good," Mrs. Evans smiled, "Because all of Sam's other friends are incredibly picky."  
>She held out a plate of chicken and about a thousand different types of vegetables for Rory to take.<br>"Thank you!" He said with a grin, accepting the plate.  
>"Suck-up." He heard Sam mutter next to him.<br>Choosing to ignore the taunt, he asked, "Where do we sit?"  
>Mrs. Evans opened her mouth to answer, but her son cut in with, "At the table, Rory."<br>Pulling a face at Sam, he made his way to the table where Stevie and Stacy were already halfway done with their meal.

"Hi, Rory!" Stevie yelped excitedly. He waved a fork in the air as a greeting and peas went flying everywhere.  
>Sam sat down next to Rory and both of them started snickering quietly.<br>"Stevie you hit me with a pea!" Stacy complained, pouting at her brother.  
>"Did not!" Stevie yipped back.<br>"Did too!"  
>Their argument hit off to a great start.<br>Rory had a lot of trouble swallowing his food; he was trying so hard not to laugh.  
>"Kids!" Mrs. Evans warned from her place behind the kitchen counted. "Stop bickering and eat your dinner."<br>Stacy and Stevie fell quiet, but continuously shot each other sideways glares.  
>Rory and Sam exchanged a look of their own.<br>"So…" Rory began, to break the ice. "What are we goin' to do tomorrow?"  
>Sam shrugged and looked back down to his plate, "Haven't planned anything yet."<br>Rory nodded and went back to eating.

Most of their meal was spent in comfortable silence, apart from Stevie and Stacy grumbling about how there was too much broccoli on their plate, or Sam and Rory talking about random things that went on before Sam came back to McKinley.  
>Rory made sure to not mention anything about bullying.<br>"Wait, so Finn and Santana sorted out their problems via _dodgeball_?" Sam asked incredulously, looking confused and amused.  
>Rory nodded, smiling. "Not that it worked or anythin'. It just meant that everyone, besides Santana, got to get hit in the face with a ball." He shuddered slightly.<p>

Sam furrowed his brow. "I thought that hitting people in the face was against the rules?"  
>"Obviously not." Rory shrugged. "Besides, it didn't hurt much."<br>_Liar. _A voice in his head accused.  
>Sam chuckled lightly. "And now everyone's friends again?" He asked, smiling at him.<br>Rory tipped his head to one side and grinned.  
>"What are you talking about?" Stevie asked. He and Stacy were long done with their meals.<br>"Stuff." Sam answered flatly.  
>"Stacy, Stevie, it's already quarter-past 8, stop annoying the boys and get yourselves ready for bed!" Mrs. Evans called. Stevie and Stacy looked up and turned the corners of their mouths down at the exact same time. Rory thought it looked like synchronized frowning.<br>"Come on, chop chop!" Their mother made a waving motion at the door, and both her younger children obediently slid off their seats, put their plates near the sink and went upstairs.

"That worked well." Rory said, nodding.  
>Sam swallowed the last of his chicken and grunted his agreement. He then turned to eye Rory's plate, and asked, "Have you had enough yet?"<br>Rory nodded and followed Sam to take his plate to the sink. Mrs. Evans smiled her thanks at them, which Rory returned awkwardly.  
>Now," Sam began, "Do you want to go back upstairs? Or we could watch T.V?"<br>Rory opened his mouth but Sam wasn't finished yet. "And don't even think about saying "what do _you_ wanna do" again."  
>Rory made a noise that sounded like a mix between a sigh and a laugh. "Alright then, uh, do you want to watch television then?"<br>Sam grabbed his shoulders and shook him playfully. "_Stop answering my questions with more questions!" _He hissed.  
>"Sorry, sorry!" Rory laughed, backing away. "Let's watch television, then."<p>

* * *

><p>They ended up spending at least the next two hours watching reruns of Family Guy, which Rory had apparently never seen before but really enjoyed anyway, after Sam finished explaining that the show had no actual storyline and Rory was free to be confused.<p>

"Boys," Mrs. Evans had appeared outside the living room. "Do you think you could both go to bed soon?"  
>Rory nodded and was about to get up, but then Sam asked, "But it's only…" he looked at a clock hanging behind him, "… oh, 10:30. But where's dad?"<br>His mother sighed. "He has to work late, remember? He won't be home till about 12."  
>Sam looked at Rory for a moment. "You wanna sleep now? You actually look pretty tired."<br>Rory nodded again, and this time actually did get up, Sam following.

"Be quiet when you're upstairs, you two." Mrs. Evans told them. "Stevie and Stacy insisted on leaving their door open tonight."  
>Sam gave his mother a hug goodnight, and Rory wondered whether or not he was supposed do the same.<br>Mrs. Evans just smiled at him and said, "Sleep well."  
>Rory smiled back and followed Sam upstairs. The blonde spun around at the top of the staircase and asked, "Do you want to use the bathroom first, or can I?"<br>"Eh?" Rory asked, raising an eyebrow.  
>Sam rolled his eyes. "To clean your teeth, idiot."<br>"Oh!" Rory nodded. "I won't be long."  
>He took a moment to remember which way down the hallway led to the guestroom, then padded quickly in the right direction and disappeared into the room for a few moments, emerging with a toothbrush. Sam was no longer in the hallway—probably getting changed in his own room.<p>

When Rory was done with the bathroom, Sam was leaning against the wall outside, in a black t-shirt and sweatpants. "Finally." He hissed jokingly, brushing past Rory into the bathroom.  
>"Goodnight to you too." Rory sniffed back. Sam looked up from where he was beginning to brush his teeth at the sink and waved his toothbrush in farewell.<br>_Well_, Rory thought, remembering Stevie's pea incident, _The Evans family seem to have a bit of a habit of waving things around._  
>It was only when he actually lay down on the bed that Rory realized just how exhausted he actually was. He fell asleep in what felt like moments.<p>

**A/N: At the slow rate I'm going now, we're not gonna get through the week until 2050.  
>Please review if you like the story, they keep me motivated. <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Woah, lot's of requests for "interactions" (aka snogging) and romance in this chapter.  
>Ha, maybe in chapter 54 if we're lucky.<strong>

As soon as Rory woke up the next morning, he instantly had the feeling that someone was watching him. Frowning, he sat up, rubbed his eyes, and looked around.  
>There was Stevie, sitting at the end of his and cuddling a toy dog, smiling sweetly.<br>Rory nearly had a heart attack.  
>"Hi!" Stevie chirped, smile growing larger.<br>Rory refrained from throwing something sharp and sucked air through his teeth loudly. "Good mornin', Stevie. What are you doing here?"  
>Stevie shrugged, "Dunno, I got bored and Stacy isn't awake yet. Sam doesn't want to play with me right now either, so I came here."<p>

Rory's heartbeat started to slow down. "Oh, okay. Well, uh, is Sam awake yet?"  
>"Yes," Stevie nodded. He pressed the toy dog to his chest with one arm and crawled up to Rory until he was practically sitting in his lap. "But Sam isn't a nice brother at morning time. He <em>never<em> wants to play with me."  
>Rory said, "Sorry to hear that Stevie," then asked, "Do you think that might be because older brothers usually might not <em>like<em> playing at…" he checked his watch, "… 7:20?"  
>Stevie shook his head, still smiling, and shifted in a way that made Rory wince slightly. "Why wouldn't they want to play?"<br>Rory frowned and wondered how he was supposed to get Stevie to leave.

Luckily Sam chose that moment to step into the room. His smile dropped slightly when he who else was in there.  
>"Stevie, what are you doing in Rory's room…?" He asked slowly.<br>His little brother turned his head over his shoulder to answer, and Rory instantly mouthed '_help_'.  
>"I'm talking to him!" Stevie explained. "I was telling him about you and how you don't like playing with me because—"<br>"Okay, okay, would you mind going out for a minute? Stacy's awake now." Sam asked gently. Stevie nodded and, hugging his toy, ran out of the room.

Sam frowned and shook his head at Rory in disbelief. "He likes you so much it's kind of scary. Maybe he has a crush on you."  
>"Ew," Rory laughed.<br>Sam folded his arms across his chest, smiling, and asked, "You gonna get up now or what?"  
>Rory nodded and slid out of the bed. As soon as he was out he felt cold.<br>He shuddered and went to his bag to pick out a jacket.  
>"Sorry about that," Sam said from across the room. Rory turned around and blinked, confused.<br>"I forgot to turn on your heater for you last night," Sam shrugged. "You weren't cold in bed were you?"  
>Rory shook his head and put on the jacket he had picked out from the bag.<br>"Good." Sam nodded to Rory and turned around, padding out of the room before he had the chance to ask what they were doing today.  
>Rolling his shoulders, Rory followed after his friend quickly. <p>

* * *

><p>After the boys had finished their breakfast (it was just cereal, Mrs. Evans was out and neither of them could cook) Rory finally got to ask his question about what their plans were for the day.<br>Sam thought for a moment. "Well, my folks are out and they'd probably kill me if we didn't stay here to look after Stacy and Stevie… so, I guess we're not going to have a fun day."  
>Rory made a non-committal noise in his throat.<br>"Hey, Sam," Stevie had entered the kitchen (still holding his toy dog) and was currently standing by the doorway, "Stacy wants to know if we can go to the park again today."  
>Sam shook his head. "Sorry, bud. Mom probably wants us to stay here."<br>Stevie pouted but his big brother ignored him, and he eventually left.  
>"He really likes that plush dog, doesn't he?" Rory asked, smiling.<br>Sam sniffed slightly. "Oh yeah. He's had it since he was born."  
>"I'm impressed," Rory said, nodding, "He's kept it in pretty good shape, any toy that I had when I was born is probably lyin' beneath me bed in half or somethin'.<br>Sam put on a faux-horrified look and whispered, "You _murderer._"  
>"Come on, I've had it for years," Rory scoffed.<br>Sam rolled his eyes. "Should've taken better care of it. Anyway, what do you want to do today?"  
>Rory made a loud grumbling noise before complaining, "Why do you always ask <em>me<em> the questions? I don't even know what kinds of activities are available!"  
>"Because you're the guest, and I'm only being polite," Sam smirked.<br>"Well stop bein' so polite and let's do what _you_ wanna do," Rory said, prodding a finger into Sam's chest.  
>Sam clucked his tongue. "Fine, let's go see what Stacy and Stevie are doing; they'd probably have better ideas than I would." <p>

* * *

><p>Both kids were in the living room, Stacy sitting on the couch in her pajamas and Stevie attempting to do something to the television, trusty toy dog at his side.<br>"Woah, stop what you're doing before you break it." Sam ordered, striding across the room and pulling his little brother away.  
>"I couldn't reach the remote!" Stevie protested in a high voice. "I'm trying to turn on the T.V some other way so Stacy and I can play playstation!"<br>Sam stopped and looked over at Rory for a moment, who was leaning against the doorway with crossed arms. "Can we both play as well?" He asked his siblings, indicating to Rory.  
>Stacy looked horrified but Stevie nodded crazily, grinning.<br>Rory walked the rest of the way into the room, and after Stevie was done flinging himself at him, asked, "That sounds like fun, but what are we gonna play?"  
>Sam leaned over to him and muttered, "Stacy hates everything but LittleBig Planet, and would most likely freak out if we played anything else."<br>Rory dipped his head to one side indifferently, because he hadn't played it, and didn't know whether or not he'd like it yet.

Once Sam had retrieved the remote from up on a shelf and set up the game, he passed the only two controllers that worked (Rory later found out that Stevie had buried one in the garden and it had gotten broken) to his siblings and squished up next to Rory on the armchair.  
>"What's this game even about?" Rory asked.<br>Sam tried to sit in a way that meant he wasn't in Rory's lap. "No idea, honestly. But its pretty fun when you play it with a group… too bad Stevie broke that other controller."  
>"Kids these days." Rory mused.<p>

He had to admit, that even watching Stacy and Stevie attempt to complete levels was pretty entertaining, mostly because they both took it so seriously.  
>"Stop falling off the cliff!" Stacy yipped loudly when Stevie died for about the fourteenth time.<br>"It's not my fault, the controller is dead!" Stevie cried back.  
>"No, it is your fault." Sam snickered quietly. Rory looked to him and grinned.<br>"Give Sam a go, he won't die all the time." Stacy huffed.  
>Stevie made a protesting yelp but gave Sam the remote controller anyway.<br>"Watch and learn, little brother and little Irish friend." Sam said dramatically. Rory stuck out his tongue and purposely shoved Sam so he dropped the remote over the side of the armchair.  
>Sam, instead of picking it up, turned and dug his fingers into Rory's sides. Rory, although he would probably deny it later, actually squealed and started a fit of high-pitched giggling, doubling over in an attempt to protect himself.<br>"Sam, what are you doing?" Stacy yowled, probably startled by all the commotion.

"No, no, go away!" Rory yelped, twisting and wriggling so much he fell right off the armchair onto his stomach. Both he and Sam cracked up loudly, Stevie and Stacy watching carefully.  
>"You're probably the most ticklish person I've had the fortune to meet." Sam snickered, offering his hand to Rory.<br>Refusing the hand and remaining on the floor, Rory pointed a finger at Sam accusingly and hissed, "I _will_ get you."  
>"Annnd, I'll just tickle you." Sam drew his hand away just when Rory reached up for it, which made them both start laughing again.<br>"What happened?" Stevie asked. He had taken the remote back when Sam hadn't picked it up, and was sitting cross-legged on the couch with it balancing on one knee.  
>"Sam happened," Rory growled at the same time that Sam said, "Rory happened."<br>They both shot each other a look through narrowed eyes.

Eventually Rory regained his spot on the armchair.  
>Sam asked, "Hey, Stace, Stevo, can we both have our turns now?"<br>His siblings handed them the remotes, and Sam explained the basic controls to Rory.

After a minute of playing Rory said, "Haha, Sam you just fell off the cliff."  
>"No Rors that was you."<br>"Oh. Hey am I doing it right?"  
>"Yeah kind of. X is jump, by the way."<br>"Damn, I think I just died again."  
>Sam sighed. "Rory, stop electrocuting yourself, I want to finish this level."<br>Rory seemed to have some kind of realization. "Ohhh, so I'm meant to swing on those circular things, not jump at them?"  
>Sam gave him an incredulous look. "You only just realized?"<p>

Rory, even after more instructions from Sam (and Stevie) was still terrible at the game.  
>"You're going off." Sam announced.<br>Rory's character died again.  
>"I told you that you were going off." Sam sighed again, shrugging.<br>Rory stuck his tongue out.  
>"Okay, let's try again." Sam told him when his character regenerated. "Look out, you're going off."<br>"_What does that even mean?_" Rory hissed.  
>"It means you're walking off the cliff."<br>"Now you tell me."  
>Stevie and Stacy were watching them attempt to pass the level, giggling every time Rory's player died.<br>"Sam, you're going off." Rory warned.  
>"No <em>you're<em> going off."  
>Stevie laughed loudly from across the room and Rory buried his head in the chair's armrest to stop himself cracking up after his character died for the hundredth time. Sam draped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a shake, also laughing.<br>"How about we give Stace or Stevie another go, and we can do an easier level later." He suggested.  
>Rory nodded, still leaning against the armrest.<p>

Sam pried the controller out of his fingers and handed it to his siblings.  
>"Thanks!" Stevie shouted. He instantly started fixing up Rory's character's position, getting it to where it was supposed to be. "Wow Rory, you fell really behind."<br>"Gee, thanks Stevie." Rory muttered sarcastically into the armchair. He felt Sam sit beside him, laughing.  
>"You'll get better," He promised, patting Rory's back gingerly.<br>Rory pulled his face away from the armrest _just_so he could roll his eyes at Sam.

**A/N: Lol that was the worst chapter, next one will hopefully be better.  
>Anyway, pretend that this is all taking place before Christmas.<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Skipped a big hunk'a boring stuff for you people who want more interactions.  
>Which you won't get until chapter 54.<br>I suck lol.**

The first days of the holiday passed by quickly. Most of their time was spent around the neighborhood, either taking Stacy and Stevie to the park numerous times or just chilling at home. It was lazy, but Rory couldn't think of a better way to spend his holiday.

Week two, day one, Rory was woken up by Sam throwing a glove at him—from a safe distance of course, so when Rory tried to hit him in retaliation he would miss.  
>"Come on, get up." Sam demanded as Rory lifted up his head and glared blearily at him.<br>"Nrrrrrrrr…" Rory growled, dropping his head back down on the pillow.  
>Sam took it upon himself to leap on top of Rory and start tickling him.<br>"Up, up, up! Dad doesn't have work anymore, and we're all going out to meet him at the shops so we can go Christmas shopping!"  
>Rory yelped with laughter and rolled Sam off him. "Okay, okay, just promise to never result to tickling again?" He lifted his head and blinked a few times.<br>Sam, who was still sitting on the bed, nodded and pulled the blankets off his friend for him. Rory made an irritated grumbling noise.  
>"You're the most annoying person I've ever met." He swung his legs out of the bed.<br>"But you love me!" Sam protested jokingly.  
>Rory glared at him. "You mind gettin' out? I want to get changed."<p>

* * *

><p>"Hi, Rory!" Stevie was the first one to greet Rory when he got downstairs, as usual, with a massive hug.<br>"Good morning." Mrs. Evans smiled in his direction and said, "We're going to have breakfast at the shopping center, if that's okay with you."  
>Rory ruffled up Stevie's hair and nodded. "I think that'd be grand."<br>Sam, who was sitting at the table and drinking from a mug, lifted up a hand and waved Rory over. Rory pushed Stevie away and walked over to sit beside his friend.  
>"What're you drinkin'?" He asked, leaning over and trying to see the contents of the mug.<br>"Coffee." Sam answered. "You want some?"  
>Rory shook his head. "Ugh, I hate coffee."<br>Sam gave him a quick look of sheer horror before returning to his drink.  
>"Sam!" Mrs. Evans called. She was standing by the kitchen bench and fiddling with her phone. "Hurry up and finish your coffee so you can get changed. Stacy and Stevie want out, and they want it <em>now<em>."  
>Sam dipped his head. "As you wish, mother dearest."<p>

Rory snorted in amusement as Stacy marched into the kitchen, looking very formal in black tights and a pink button-up sweater that almost reached her knees. "Mom, can we go now?" She asked.  
>Mrs. Evans shook her head and indicated at Sam. "When your brother's done with his coffee, then yes."<br>Stevie frowned at Sam and ordered, "Hurry up!"  
>Sam pouted. "Why is everyone so mean?"<br>"Why are _you_ so _slow_?" Rory countered smartly. Sam elbowed him, nearly knocking Rory out of the chair and spilling his drink.  
>"Let's see you drink hot coffee at the speed of light, eh?" He challenged, taking another tiny sip.<br>"Put it in the fridge." Stacy suggested.  
>Sam scoffed at her. "<em>No!<em>"  
>Rory put his face in his palm, shaking his head and grinning.<br>Sam and Stacy's argument had a long-enough break for Sam to gulp down the rest of his coffee. He thunked the mug down on the table dramatically and said, "There, done. Now, let's be off."  
>"Finally!" Stacy cried.<p>

* * *

><p>The car ride to the shops was quite eventful.<br>Sam, riding shotgun, took it upon himself to turn in his seat and punch Rory (gently of course) _every time _he saw a yellow car, yelling "spotto!" which was apparently some kind of fad. Stacy, who was sitting in the middle, seemed to be trying to sit in a way that meant she wasn't touching Rory in any way, and Stevie was having the time of his life pointing out anything they drove past that he found interesting. Like trees.  
>"Look, Rory!" He yelled at one point, leaning across Stacy and jabbing his finger at the window.<br>Despite knowing that nothing worth looking at was going to be there, Rory turned and looked outside. "What is it?"  
>Stevie prodded at the glass again. "It's a dog! Look, look, down there!"<br>"Oh, I see it." Rory said flatly.  
>"Stevie, get <em>off<em>!" Stacy cried, attempting to shove her brother off her legs. He made an offended noise but pulled back into his seat.  
>"Stop arguing!" Sam ordered, and both his siblings fell silent immediately. He turned and frowned at Rory, whispering, "That was easier than I expected…"<p>

* * *

><p>"Mom, are we there yet?" Stevie asked for the thousandth time.<br>Mrs. Evans sighed loudly as they did another lap of the car park. To Rory, it felt like they had been there for hours. "I told you, yes, we just need to find a park."  
>Sam turned to Stacy and Stevie, tapping the sides of his eyes. "Keep your eyes peeled, kiddies." He glanced at Rory. "And you."<br>"No special mention for me?" Rory sarcastically complained, folding his arms.  
>"There's a park!" Stacy shouted suddenly, making everyone jump.<br>"Good eyes, Stace." Her mother praised, sounding relieved.  
>The car pulled into the small space and everyone hopped out.<br>Stacy wrinkled up her nose as soon as she shut the door. "Ew, it smells like petrol here."  
>Sam walked up behind her and ruffled her hair. "That's because we're in a car park, Stace."<br>She turned to him, looking annoyed. "I know_ that_!"  
>"So," Mrs. Evans began, mainly speaking to Sam. "If I take Stacy and Stevie with me and leave you two to go off and buy whatever, can you meet us near that sushi place you love in about an hour?"<br>Sam shrugged and started turning in the opposite direction. "Sure."  
>"Don't waste your money!" Mrs. Evans warned.<br>Grabbing Rory's arm and tugging him away, Sam called over his shoulder, "What am I, twelve? I know how to shop!"

Rory stumbled after him for a few moments, attempting to regain his footing. "Slow down a bit will you?" He yelped.  
>"Sorry." Sam stopped walking like he was on a mission and allowed Rory time to sort himself out, letting go of his arm at last.<br>"Thanks," Rory nodded and they continued walking toward the shopping center entrance as he asked, "So who are you buying presents for?"  
>"Stacy and Stevie of course, and maybe mom and dad if we haven't run out of money by then." Sam answered. He glanced sideways at Rory, whose brow was creased in thought. "We're probably going to buy you a whole pile of things as well, if that's what you're wondering."<br>"No!" Rory protested; it came out louder than he had meant to. "Don't waste any of your present money on me."  
>Sam smiled at that, looking a bit evil, Rory thought. "Too late, already got something in mind."<br>"I'll buy you something as well!" The brunette promised as they made their way inside.  
>"You don't even have any money." Sam pointed out.<br>_Do too,_ Rory wanted to argue—he _had,_ luckily, brought his wallet along with him.  
>He settled with faking an irritated grumble, which Sam thought of as real.<p>

* * *

><p>The shopping center wasn't crowded, but it wasn't exactly empty either. Rory made sure to stick close by Sam as to not get lost, if a sudden swarm of people happened to appear.<br>"Ever been here?" Sam asked.  
>Rory raised his eyebrow and shook his head. "Sam, really? I'm from Ireland, remember?" He pointed out.<br>Sam laughed for a few moments. "No need to snap, dear sir."  
>"I wasn't snapping!" Rory complained loudly, earning himself a few glances from passers-by. Resisting the urge to apologize publicly, he lowered his voice and said, "Sorry, that wasn't supposed to attract attention."<br>"Good ol' Rory," Sam scoffed, "You attract attention even when you're not trying."  
>Rory put on a smug look. "Well, I <em>am<em> attractive!" He chirped.  
>Sam laughed quietly, shaking his head. "Someone's confident!"<p>

Not too long later, Sam had led Rory to a small shop filled with toys.  
>"Let me guess, something for Stacy and Stevie?" Rory asked.<br>Sam rolled his eyes. "Nah Rors, I was planning to buy an action figure for my mom," He said, voice dripping with sarcasm. He winked at Rory and reached out to ruffle his hair annoyingly. "Use your brain, kiddo."  
>"<em>Kiddo?<em>" Rory cried, offended.  
>Sam ignored him and started browsing the contents of one of the shelves. He poked a hand out and squeezed a plush cat's paw, and it meowed loudly. He visibly flinched, and Rory stared for a moment before throwing back his head and laughing.<br>"Be quiet," Sam shushed, obviously embarrassed.  
>Rory shook his head and tried to distract himself by looking for toys, muttering, "Scared of a toy cat…"<br>He suddenly had an idea.  
>"Hey, Sam?" He asked, looking over at the blonde, who was obviously avoiding all toy cats. Sam looked up and nodded for Rory to ask his question.<br>"I'm gonna go to the bathroom, can you just stay here and not go hide somewhere?" Rory finished, shoving his hands into his pockets to check if his wallet was still there.  
>"Mm-hm," Sam replied, going back to the shelf.<p>

Rory tried not to look suspicious as he headed out of the shop, slowly pulling his wallet out of his jacket pocket and fiddling with it nervously. Wait, why was he even nervous, all he was doing was buying a present, not fighting aliens.  
>What would Sam want anyway? Rory had only ever bought presents for <em>his<em> family and for girls, what if he got something Sam didn't like?  
>Rory mentally told his brain to shut up and search for a shop that looked like it would have something for Sam in it.<br>He checked again to see how much money he had; $70 which was quite a lot, but it wasn't like he would spend all of it. He got a move on so Sam wouldn't get suspicious as to why he was taking so long to go to the bathroom.  
>Clothes, he eventually decided on. You couldn't go wrong with clothes, unless the person you gave them to was aspiring to be a nudist, and that person definitely wasn't Sam.<br>Rory, suddenly feeling impressed with himself, rushed to the nearest clothes shop.

* * *

><p>"You took a while." Sam said as a greeting when he got back. Rory grinned and tried not to move his torso too much—he had shoved the bag with the clothes in it up his jacket, then zipped it up and tucked it into his jeans so it wouldn't fall out. He felt incredibly awkward.<br>"Found anything?" Rory asked, trying to look and act normal.  
>Sam nodded and lifted up one of the evil toy cats they had encountered earlier. Seeing Rory's brow furrow, he explained, "Although this cat will be the death of me, Stacy would probably like it." He shrugged. "Still haven't found anything for Stevie yet. What do you think he'd want?"<br>It was Rory's turn to shrug. "Gosh, well he isn't my brother so I'm not too sure… maybe a friend to his current toy dog?"  
>Sam laughed. "That's actually a good idea, but what animal should it be?"<br>"A beaver?" Rory suggested the first thing that came to his head. Sam stared, wrinkling his nose.  
>"I don't know any shops that sell toy beavers…" He murmured.<p>

Suddenly he took off towards the counter, toy cat clutched tightly in one hand. Rory followed after him quickly, feeling the bag in his jacket slip down slightly.  
>"Hi," Sam greeted the clerk, flashing a smile. She was a curvy woman with dark hair in a plait, even darker eyes and long eyelashes behind a pair of glasses. The nametag pinned to her uniform read, "Lilly". She looked, Rory thought, only a bit older than them.<br>She looked up from her book and smiled back, asking, "How may I help you?"  
>"Do you sell toy beavers?" Sam inquired. Rory, standing behind him, tried to cover up his snicker by coughing, but he just managed to sound like a machine gun.<br>The clerk blinked, smile wavering. "Uh, sorry?" She asked slowly.  
>"Toy beavers!" Sam repeated as if it was the most normal thing in the world for a teenage boy to ask for. "I want to know if you sell any."<br>Lilly looked at him as if he was crazy for a moment, before she broke into another grin. "I think we do, follow me."  
>Thanking her, Sam grabbed Rory's wrist with his non-toy-cat-holding-hand and tagged along after. Rory used his free arm to make sure the bag didn't fall out, and probably looked like he was having a stomach ache, what with the way he was holding his belly.<br>Lilly stopped around one of the aisles and turned back to them. She indicated at the shelves and said, "There should be some around here, call me if…" She eyed Sam's hand, which Rory noticed with a start was holding very close to his own, before finishing, "…you guys want any help." With another bright smile, she trotted back to her desk.

"Sam, you have permission to let go of my wrist now." Rory muttered. Sam blinked and stared down at their arms as if only just realizing where his hand was.  
>He obediently let go then said, "I think those are toy beavers right there." He stepped to a shelf to his left, and suddenly frowned. "Oh, these are squirrels."<br>Rory sighed and grabbed one anyway. "Come on, is Stevie really going to mind?"  
>Sam smiled and shook his head. "Probably not," he admitted.<br>Rory returned his smile, took the toy cat out of Sam's fingers and strode toward the counter with the both the cat and the squirrel.  
>Lilly looked up when she heard him coming, smiling hugely as if he was her best friend all of a sudden.<br>"Hi," Rory greeted , placing the toys on the counter and pulling out his wallet.  
>"Is that your boyfriend?" Lilly gushed excitedly.<br>Rory nearly dropped the money he was holding. "What? No!" He sputtered.  
>Lilly smirked and scanned one of the toys. "Shame, you two would be so cute."<br>"What would be so cute?" Sam asked, walking up behind Rory. He spotted the money already lying on the counter and snatched it back. "Oh nooo you don't, leave that to me," he announced. He lifted up Rory's arm and pressed the notes into his hand as if he was a puppet.  
>Seeing Lilly smirk again, Rory sighed and wished Sam would find a different way of giving him back money.<p>

* * *

><p>After chatting with Lilly for a little while and paying for the toys, Sam and Rory said goodbye and left, because they had spent more time than they had meant to in the toyshop.<br>"So, what was cute back there?" Sam decided to ask as they searched for something for his parents.  
>"Oh, nothing." Rory said hastily, but Sam gave him a look.<br>"Go on," he urged, poking Rory's chest. "Spill."  
>Sighing, Rory cautiously explained what Lilly had mistaken them to be.<br>Sam frowned a bit when he finished talking, and then made a noise that indicated he wasn't bothered by this at all. "Huh, well, coming from the person who's been mistaken to be my siblings' _dad_, that isn't such a surprise." He went back to searching the shelves.  
>Rory was a bit put-off by his indifference, but he shrugged it off and helped him find the present. <p>

* * *

><p>"Rory, Sam!" Mrs. Evans exclaimed as they greeted her, Stacy and Stevie near a random sushi place. "How did it go?"<br>Stevie had thrown his arms around Rory's waste as soon as he'd seen him, the latter trying to keep Stevie from noticing the shopping bag shoved up his jacket, which was really beginning to make him uncomfortable.  
>Sam waved a hand in reply. "Oh, I think Rory and I did pretty well." He dipped his head to the bag hanging from his hand, containing the toys and his parents' present.<br>His mother smiled. "Good job boys!"  
>"Can we get sushi?" Stacy asked, trying to get a peak inside the bag.<br>Sam lifted it above his head. "Yeah mom," He said, grinning childishly.  
>Mrs. Evans rolled her eyes and looked at Rory, who had escaped Stevie's arms. "Do you eat sushi, dear?"<br>Nodding, he answered, "Of course I do," then added in an afterthought, "I pretty much eat everything."  
>Stacy looked horrified. "Even metal?" She squeaked.<br>Even Mrs. Evans laughed at that.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sooo sorry for not updating, I was on holidays and then my computer broke and I had to find myself a USB that worked.  
>Since you guys rock, there may or may not be a few "different things" next chappie ;)<strong>

Mr. Evans was finally spending a lot of time with his family and their guest. He was, Rory learned, a lot like Sam in the way he acted, and the way never seemed to get angry about anything.  
>Stacy was still a bit shy around him, but she and Rory had reached the point where they made eye contact without the former running away or hiding. One time they even had a five-minute conversation about cats, which was a major success, according to Sam.<p>

Week two, day four, Mrs. Evans had an announcement over dinner.  
>"You're probably all wondering what we're doing for Christmas this year," she began, capturing everyone's attention easily. "Well, we're going to go stay with the Hensons in Westerville."<br>"Who?" Rory asked curiously.  
>Sam leant sideways to him and explained, "Family friends, we go spend Christmas with them almost every year. They're really cool; they have a daughter about our age."<br>"When are we going?" Stacy inquired.  
>Mr. Evans frowned slightly. "It's a bit of a short notice, but we leave on Friday."<br>Stevie thought for a second. "Two days?" He bounced up in his seat excitedly.  
>His mother smiled. "One actually, seeing as we can't really count tonight."<br>Stacy whooped loudly, and even Sam looked excited.  
>Catching Rory's facial expression, he grinned and nudged him, "Come on, you're gonna have a blast! Isabelle is awesome, and their house is really close to a bunch of really cool places."<br>Rory brightened up a bit.  
>Backing up Sam's statement, Mrs. Evans said, "True, and even Stacy and Stevie won't bother you too much there. They'll be too busy playing with the Henson dogs."<br>Rory actually blanched at that, but she didn't notice. Sam did, however.  
>"Now," Mr. Evans clapped his hands together to grab their attention again, "Kiddies, off to bed."<br>"But _daaaaaad_!" Stacy whined.  
>He held up his palm to stem the coming flood of complaints. "Come on, it's late. Scoot!"<br>Doing another one of those synchronized frowns, Stevie and his sister scraped back on their chairs and slumped to the sink where they put their plates, hugged everyone goodnight, and went upstairs.  
>Sam watched them go, an amused look on his face, which faded once he turned back to Rory. "Do you want to go watch something in my room?"<br>Rory shrugged and nodded.

Once alone, Sam spun around and said, "So, spill."  
>Rory blinked. "What?" He asked, tipping his head to one side.<br>"Back at the table. You seemed okay with going to the Hensons until mom mentioned their dogs." Sam pointed out.  
>"Oh," Rory mumbled, looking flustered. "Nah, no reason."<br>Sam gave him a suspicious look through narrowed eyes.  
>Rory held up his hands. "Okay! Dogs really scare me, that's why. I mean, I don't mind little ones…" He broke off, sounding embarrassed.<br>_Well, isn't it handy that the Hensons have two German shepherds! _Sam thought.  
>Trying a different approach, he asked, "Why don't you like them?"<br>"They bite," replied Rory with a shudder. "What kind of dogs do the Harrisons have anyway?"  
>"Hensons," Sam corrected with a sigh. "German shepherds, two of them." Seeing Rory whiten, he hurried on. "But don't worry, they're really friendly, the only thing they've ever bitten are their chew toys."<br>"But they're still really big, yeah?" Rory asked flatly.  
>Sam looked to one side in exasperation and nodded. "Not much I can do about that, Rors, and you don't have anywhere else to stay so—"<br>"I know!" Rory interrupted. He shook his head as if to clear it of doubt, and then smiled slightly. "I shouldn't be complaining like a jerk, not after all your family's done for me. Maybe it'll be fun?"  
>"It will be." Sam returned Rory's weak smile ten times brighter, and added, "Anyway it's not like you're gonna get hurt; you have <em>me<em> to protect you!"  
>Rory cheered up considerably, face split by a massive grin. "You're such a dork."<br>Sam dipped his head. "And you're a jerk, so I guess we're equal."

* * *

><p>When the afternoon came for everyone to leave, everyone was divided into the two cars: Stacy, Stevie and Mr. Evans in one, Mrs. Evans, Sam and Rory in the other—Mrs. Evans had made Sam sit in the back with Rory to keep him company, much to the latter's delight.<br>However, Rory, despite Sam's effort on the previous day, was still slightly edgy.  
>"Really, calm down." Sam hissed at him when they were halfway through the drive. "And stop twiddling your thumbs, it's provoking me."<br>Rory exhaled loudly and stopped playing with his fingers for a few moments. "Sorry. I'm actually more excited than nervous you know. By the way, what's Isabelle like? Is their house big? Are we almost there?"  
>Sam raised an eyebrow, because Rory had said all of that incredibly fast—not to mention that he had started fiddling with his thumbs again.<br>Sighing, Sam reached out and plucked Rory's nervous fingers apart with his own. "I'm gonna quarantine your hands until you calm down and tell me why you're freaking out like this."  
>Rory chuckled lightly, allowing Sam to keep his hands for a while. "I don't know, actually. I guess I'm kind of worried about whether or not these people are going to like me, or if their dogs might go nuts and rip my leg off."<br>"_I'll_ go nuts and rip your leg off if you don't settle." Sam said, sounding very serious.  
>Rory widened his eyes and Sam suddenly burst out laughing.<br>"You should see your face." He giggled. "It's _priceless_!"  
>Rory gave him a sarcastic kind of, <em>"I bet it is" <em>look, before tugging his hands out of Sam's and putting them in his lap. "There, my thumbs are perfectly relaxed, happy?"  
>Sam nodded and fluffed up the pillow he had insisted on bringing with him, placing it against the car window and laying his head against it.<br>Rory wished he had brought something soft to lie on as well, because riding in anything for more than half an hour usually made him very sleepy; now was one of those occasions.  
>Tugging against his seatbelt to give himself a bit more freedom, Rory leant forward and scooped his bag off the floor—it wasn't exactly perfect, but he supposed it could do as a pillow.<br>Sam, probably disturbed by the rustling, lifted his head away and watched him for a few moments.  
>"You can share my pillow if you want?" He suggested. "We can put it horizontally on the middle seat, both our heads would fit."<br>Dropping his bag back down and nodding, Rory had a ten-second-long war with his seatbelt, which seemed to be trying to restrict his movement in any way possible, before he was able to lie down sideways and settle his head on the cushion, the top of Sam's hair just brushing his. Despite the awkward position, it was actually very comfortable and warm. He went to sleep quickly.

* * *

><p>Rory was having an incredibly weird dream that Sam was poking the top of his head with a stick, chanting "Wake up, wake up!" He kept trying to wriggle away, but every time he moved Sam would be there before him with the offending piece of wood, jabbing at the top of his head. Getting annoyed, Rory lifted a hand and made an attempt to swat the stick out of Sam's hands.<br>"Ow!" Sam yelped loudly, and Rory's eyes opened to see that he had hit his good friend, who was just trying to wake him up with a few pokes to the head, right in the face.  
>"Oh gosh, Sam I'm so sorry!" Rory cried, sitting up and wincing as his cramped muscles were moved too suddenly. Rubbing his face with one hand, Sam waved the other one around indifferently, as if to say "<em>its fine<em>."_  
><em>"You were muttering really weird things in your sleep when I was trying to wake you up." He recounted, "Maybe they were attack cries or something."  
>Shaking his head and laughing, Rory suddenly realized that the car had stopped and Mrs. Evans was no longer with them. "Oh, are we there?"<br>Sam nodded and opened the door on his side. He jumped out and stretched for a long moment before turning back around. "You coming? Bring your stuff."  
>Rory nodded and scooped up his bag, crawling out Sam's door and shutting it behind him, before taking in his surroundings.<br>They were in a long street, neat, large houses in almost every direction on both sides of the slim road. The house they had parked in front of stood out from the others; it was blue and white, for a start, not to mention that it was practically a mansion in Rory's eyes. It made Sam's place look like a doghouse.  
>Too busy taking in the area to notice that Sam had strode up to the door and rung the doorbell, Rory jumped and nearly dropped his bag when a sharp tinkling noise suddenly broke the silence, followed by a series of very loud, very scary barks.<br>He heard the sound of the door opening and a cheerful woman's voice greeting Sam, and the barking ceased immediately.  
>And then: "Rory, get yourself over here!"<br>Obeying quickly, Rory walked up the path that led to the open door, where Sam was standing with a tall woman with toned skin and dirty blonde hair.  
>"You must be Rory." She said with a smile. She held out a calloused hand and Rory had to shift his bag before he could shake it. "I'm Caroline."<br>Rory put on his signature grin and answered, "Good to meet you. Your house is amazing."  
>She smiled again, Rory liking her more and more each second. "Thank you darling!" She turned to Sam and offered, "You two come inside and out of the cold now, okay?"<br>Nodding, Sam hooked and arm through Rory's, much to his surprise, and tugged him into the house, which was just as pretty on the inside as it was out.  
>"No sign of dogs." Rory couldn't stop himself saying.<br>"They're probably chilling outside." Sam explained, dragging Rory into what was definitely the kitchen.  
>Sitting at a long rectangular table in the center of the room, Sam's mother and a stocky man with curly brown hair who was probably Mr. Henson were chatting casually. Standing at the far end of the room and pouring herself a glass of some pink liquid was a rather gorgeous girl who was most likely Isabelle. Upon seeing them, she clunked down the jug of drink and crossed the room so quickly that Rory didn't even see her until she had her arms thrown around Sam, red hair all over her face.<br>"What took you so long?" She used as a greeting, squeezing him tightly.  
>"Hello to you too, Iz." Sam responded, smiling and petting Isabelle's hair. He pushed her away gently after their moment and indicated at Rory. "This here's my good friend, Rory Flanagan. He's from Ireland but he's staying with me for the holidays because his real foster family abandoned him for Christmas."<br>Isabelle looked confused by the story, but she held out her hand anyway for Rory to shake. "Ireland huh? Is everything actually green there?"  
>"No!" Rory exclaimed, trying not to sound offended—Isabelle was the fifth person to ask him that, and it was kind of getting annoying. "Well, a few things are, like grass and stuff…"<br>Isabelle held out her hands. "Well, _duh_!" She grinned brightly, showing perfectly straight teeth, and turned back to Sam. "So, when are the little ones coming?"  
>Sam shrugged. "Maybe they ran into traffic, or got lost. You know how hopeless Stacy and Stevie are when it comes to looking out for street signs."<br>Isabelle nodded, then turned her head over her shoulder and commanded, "Dad, come and greet our guests you lazy bum!"  
>"<em>EXCUSE me?<em>" Mr. Henson shouted, pushing back his chair. He rolled his eyes and broke into a smile, clapping his daughter on the shoulder before greeting both Rory and Sam loudly.  
>To Rory he explained, "I'm Riley, in case Sam hasn't told you yet. Under no circumstances do you call me "Mr. Henson" or "sir", got it?"<br>Rory's arm nearly being shaken off, he nodded and laughed because so far he really liked these people.  
>Isabelle clapped her hands together as if to call for order, but she was interrupted by the sound of a door opening, before Stevie's voice floated into the kitchen, announcing that the rest of the Evans family had arrived at last.<p>

For a long time everything was a bit of a rush—everyone was greeting each other and asking why Mr. Evans and the kids had come so late: it turned out that the shortcut they took had mass amounts of traffic.  
>After the kerfuffle had died down a bit and the adults had gone off into a different room, Stacy and Stevie asked, "Can we see the dogs please?"<br>Isabelle grinned at their eagerness and nodded, turning to Sam and asking if he would like to come too—Rory noticed that she only asked Sam, and not him.  
>Sam's eyebrows twitched inwards as if he was trying not to frown. "I'd love to, but I'm not sure if Rory would. Dogs aren't his thing."<br>Isabelle cast him a surprised glance, looking as if she'd only just remembered he was there. "Oh. Well, he can stay inside if he really doesn't want to come outside."  
>Not wanting to be left alone in someone else's kitchen, Rory quickly said, "No I'll come out, Sam's told me that they're friendly."<br>"Yay Rory!" Stevie shouted, giving him a hug for no reason.  
>Isabelle took a step towards Sam and grabbed his hand before dragging him to a screen door that led outside to the garden. Watching them go, Rory felt something negative twitch in his stomach but chose to ignore it as he followed everyone outside.<br>Wow, was the Henson garden massive.  
>And their dogs weren't too small either.<br>"Hey bubs!" Isabelle cooed as a greeting, freeing Sam and crouching down to greet the two _enormous _German shepherds that were acting as if they hadn't seen their master in years. Rory took in their appearance after taking a few steps back.  
>One of them, the slimmer of the two, had a blackish muzzle and was mostly a deep brown, save for a couple of tan areas. The stockier one had longer, lighter fur and a few random black patches.<br>Sam, noticing Rory's slight distance, took a step back and pointed to the thinner dog. "That one's Lenny. The other one's Dusty. They're probably both going to jump up on you since they've never seen you before."  
>Rory took another step back, watching as Dusty and Lenny almost bowled Stacy over by rubbing their faces against her stomach. "They're <em>huge<em>."  
>Sam shrugged and moved away before he clapped his hands together and asked playfully, "Hey doggies, where's my hello?"<br>Both of them instantly abandoned Stacy and rushed up to him.  
>Lenny, when standing on his hind legs, was almost taller than Sam, which didn't really help Rory to warm up to them. Dusty pranced around until it was her turn to be greeted, then gave the human a thorough face-lick.<br>"Ugh, your breath is _awful_!" Sam exclaimed, grabbing the dog's cheeks and shaking her face around. Lenny stuck his nose into Sam's ear at one point, which made even Rory laugh.  
>Brushing the happy animals away, Sam scooted over to Rory and warned, "I think it's your turn to be welcomed now… If you get too freaked out just say so, okay?"<br>Dusty was the first to notice Rory, and boy did she look amazed. She shouldered the other dog out of the way before bounding over to him and pawing at his legs, Lenny instantly charging up to say hello as well.  
>Rory stiffened a bit, but at least they hadn't jumped up yet.<br>In fact, Lenny did the exact opposite: he suddenly rolled over at Rory's feet, mouth open and tongue sticking out. He looked like he belonged in a loony bin.  
>"Aw, Rors he loves you!" Sam teased, crouching down and rubbing the dog's belly.<br>Dusty, unfortunately, didn't have the same idea. Without any warning Rory found a pair of dog forepaws on his stomach and a very eager face right up to his. The action was way too sudden, and Rory fearfully shouted, "Sam!"  
>Standing up, Sam slapped Dusty gently on the stomach, saying, "Down! Don't be so rude to your guests!"<br>Isabelle strode up and hooked her fingers through Dusty's collar, shaking her head at Rory—not apologetically, but kind of _rudely_. "Sorry about that, she's used to people returning her kind embrace."  
>Maybe she didn't mean it in the same way he took it, but Rory, after his shock, definitely didn't need to hear <em>that<em>.  
>Sam looked him up and down for a moment as if to check for any signs of pain. Upon there being none, he turned to Stacy, Stevie and Isabelle, who were all messing up Dusty's fur in a different part of the garden, then down to Lenny, who was gazing back up at him with a waggy tail. "She's usually a lot nicer than that…" He murmured with a frown. Lenny's ears went forward and he closed his mouth, an attentive look crossing his face.<br>"The dog?" Rory asked. To his embarrassment, his voice was slightly shaky.  
>Sam laughed and scratched the male dog behind the ears. "No, Isabelle."<br>Rory let out a whoosh of air from his mouth, making Lenny blink up at him curiously. "I think I've had enough dogs for a while, can I go back in?"  
>Sam nodded. He then tilted his head in everyone else's direction and shouted, "Oi Iz! Rors and I are gonna go back inside, is that okay?"<br>Isabelle looked up from where she and the kids were still playing with Dusty and tipped her head to one side indifferently. "Do whatever you want. I thought you liked the dogs though?"  
>"I do, but Rory doesn't." Sam called back, and without waiting for her to find something else to talk about led the way back into the house.<p>

* * *

><p>"You're really awesome, Sam." Rory said honestly when they were back in the safety of the kitchen. Sam, pouring them both a drink, shrugged.<br>"What have I done now?" He asked, sliding the glass across to Rory. He lifted his own to his mouth and took a sip, waiting for an answer.  
>"Well, just like you said, you protected me from crazy dogs." Rory answered simply after taking a few gulps of his drink. He instantly regretted it, because <em>wow<em> did that sound corny.  
>Sam's reaction was rather unexpected.<br>"Awww!" He cooed loudly, plastering on the goofiest smile he had. He put his glass back down on the counter and threw his arms around Rory, almost lifting him off the ground.  
>"Sam you're strangling me!" Rory yelped, voice humiliatingly high. He tried to find a way of preventing his drink from spilling—it was incredibly hard, as Sam had decided to give him one of those hugs where you rock the other person around.<br>"I'm going to spill fizzy drink all over you!" Rory warned. Sam released him and jumped back, face still covered by that _ridiculous_ grin. Gosh, it looked some kind of adorable on him.  
><em>Woah.<em>  
>That was <em>not<em> something Rory usually thought.  
>"You look troubled." Sam chirped, not losing the silly face. He scooped up his glass and drank the rest of it.<br>Rory grinned back at him. "I'm fine; I just finally realized where Stevie gets all of his weird hug impulses from."  
>Sam made a "<em>pff<em>" noise. "Good job Rory. Your detective skills could rival that of Sherlock's."  
>"Heyyy." Rory complained. "There's no need to get sarcastic!"<br>"There's always a need to get sarcastic with you, Rors." Sam teased, somehow making his silly expression look sillier.  
>"Jerk." Rory grumbled, finishing up the remainder of his drink. It fizzed at the back of his throat for a few moments.<br>"I thought you were the jerk though?" Sam tilted his head to one side, looking genuinely confused. "Wasn't I the dork?"  
>Rory made a sound that was like a mix between a snort of laughter and a sigh. "You just evolved into an idiot."<br>Sam pulled a face. "Aw, you still love me the same right?"  
>Rory, suddenly feeling light, grinned and answered, "Well, <em>duh<em>!"


End file.
